The nature of economic costs of biological invasions

Niche Expansion Has Increased the Risk of Leptocybe invasa Fisher Et LaSalle Invasions at the Global Scale

Invasive alien species often undergo shifts in their ecological niches when they establish themselves in environments that differ from their native habitats. Leptocybe invasa Fisher et LaSalle (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), specifically, has caused huge economic losses to Eucalyptus trees in Australia. The global spread of eucalyptus cultivation has allowed L. invasa to threaten plantations beyond its native habitat. It is, therefore, urgent to implement effective control measures to mitigate the impact of this pest. The optimized MaxEnt model was used to predict the potential global distribution of L. invasa based on occurrence data and environmental variables. The centroid shift, overlap, unfilling, and expansion (COUE) framework was employed to evaluate niche dynamics during the global invasion process by comparing the ecological niches of L. invasa in both native regions and regions affected by invasions (hereafter referred to as "invaded"). The results indicated that the distribution of L. invasa is primarily influenced by temperature, precipitation, and the human influence index variables. Its ecological niche was shown to have considerably expanded from native to invaded regions. Under future climate scenarios, the potential geographical distribution of L. invasa is projected to be concentrated primarily in East Asia, Southeast Asia, Western Europe, and Southern Oceania. In the future, the potentially suitable areas for the establishment of L. invasa are expected to further expand. This study provides a unified framework for exploring the niche dynamics of invasive alien species globally. Emphasizing early warning and control in uninvaded areas is crucial for minimizing L. invasa ecological and economic threats.

Biological invasions negatively impact global protected areas

Protected areas underpin global biodiversity conservation and sustainability agendas. Biological invasions increasingly threaten the ecological functioning and long-term conservation value of protected areas, while a lack of information on impact impedes management decisions. We collated data from effects of biological invasions in protected areas to provide the first quantitative analysis of their global impacts. Based on 300 reported effects from 44 invasive species, we show that there are overall negative impacts from invasive species on both biotic and abiotic characteristics of protected areas globally. Impacts were pervasive across population, community, and ecosystem scales, and for the vast majority of invasive taxa with sufficient data. Negative impacts have been incurred around the world, with National Parks and World Heritage Sites in the Neartic and Neotropical regions the most studied. Notwithstanding context-dependencies and uneven research efforts, the recurrent negative impacts of invasive species indicate that current efforts are insufficient to curb current stressors and meet conservation and sustainability targets on land and in water. To address the risk of biological invasions in protected areas, it is imperative to prioritise fundamental research on ecological interactions, establish robust monitoring and prevention programs, and raise awareness through global initiatives.

The rising global economic costs of invasive Aedes mosquitoes and Aedes-borne diseases

Invasive Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes transmit viruses such as dengue, chikungunya and Zika, posing a huge public health burden as well as having a less well understood economic impact. We present a comprehensive, global-scale synthesis of studies reporting these economic costs, spanning 166 countries and territories over 45 years. The minimum cumulative reported cost estimate expressed in 2022 US$ was 94.7 billion, although this figure reflects considerable underreporting and underestimation. The analysis suggests a 14-fold increase in costs, with an average annual expenditure of US$ 3.1 billion, and a maximum of US$ 20.3 billion in 2013. Damage and losses were an order of magnitude higher than investment in management, with only a modest portion allocated to prevention. Effective control measures are urgently needed to safeguard global health and well-being, and to reduce the economic burden on human societies. This study fills a critical gap by addressing the increasing economic costs of Aedes and Aedes-borne diseases and offers insights to inform evidence-based policy.

The Economic Analyses of the Drosophila suzukii's Invasions: A Mini-review

The objective of this paper is to bring to the fore the type of economic analyses that have been carried out on the invasion of the Drosophila suzukii Matsumura (Diptera: Drosophilidae) and what has been learned. The analysis is limited to the original research articles published in peer-reviewed journals and book chapters. A total of 20 relevant studies are identified. The studies are analysed based on their main purpose, which is either economic impact assessment or economic evaluation of management programmes. The analysis also considers the key methodological points highlighted in recent reviews of the economic literature on alien invasive species. Over time, the focus of these studies has gradually shifted from raising awareness of the magnitude of the impact, particularly on agricultural production, to supporting the decision-making process concerning effective pest management. Most studies have been conducted from a private perspective, measuring private costs and providing guidance to the industry. However, some papers include, or focus on, the societal costs caused by the invasions of D. suzukii. This review has found few impact studies in the recently invaded areas and no economic evaluation of management programmes. There are not only geographical areas, but also themes that need more attention and analysis in the economic studies on D. suzukii. Assessing the economic effectiveness of integrated pest management programmes in specific settings, included the Latin American countries, is crucial.

Widespread imprecision in estimates of the economic costs of invasive alien species worldwide

Several hundred studies have attempted to estimate the monetary cost arising from the management and/or impacts of invasive alien species. However, the diversity of methods used to estimate the monetary costs of invasive alien species, the types of costs that have been reported, and the spatial scales at which they have been assessed raise important questions as to the precision of these reported monetary costs. Benford's Law has been increasingly used as a diagnostic tool to assess the accuracy and reliability of estimates reported in financial accounts but has rarely been applied to audit data on environmental costs. Therefore, the distributions of first, second- and leading double-digits of the monetary costs arising from biological invasions, as reported in the InvaCost database, were compared with the null expectations under Benford's Law. There was strong evidence that the reported monetary costs of biological invasions departed considerably from Benford's Law and the departures were of a scale equal to that found in global macroeconomic data. The rounding upwards of costs appears to be widespread. Furthermore, numerical heaping, where values cluster around specific numbers was evident with only 901 unique cost values accounting for half of the 13,553 cost estimates within the InvaCost database. Irrespective of the currency, the value of 1,000,000 was the most common cost estimate. An investigation of anomalous data entries concluded that non-peer reviewed official government reports need to provide greater detail regarding how costs are estimated. Despite the undeniably high economic cost of biological invasions worldwide, individual records of costs were often found to be imprecise and possibly inflated and this emphasises the need for greater transparency and rigour when reporting the costs of biological invasions. Identifying whether the irregularities found for the costs of biological invasions are general for other types of environmental costs should be a research priority.

The economic costs of invasive aquatic plants: A global perspective on ecology and management gaps

Safeguarding aquatic ecosystems from invasive species requires a comprehensive understanding and quantification of their impacts, as this information is crucial for developing effective management strategies. In particular, aquatic invasive plants cause profound alterations to aquatic ecosystem composition, structure and productivity. Monetary cost assessments have, however, lacked at large scales for this group. Here, we synthesize the global economic impacts of aquatic and semi-aquatic invasive plants to describe the distributions of these costs across taxa, habitat types, environments, impacted sectors, cost typologies, and geographic regions. We also examine the development of recorded costs over time using linear and non-linear models and infer the geographical gaps of recorded costs by superimposing cost and species distribution data. Between 1975 and 2020, the total cost of aquatic and semi-aquatic invasive plants to the global economy exceeded US$ 32 billion, of which the majority of recorded costs (57 %) was attributable to multiple or unspecified taxa. Submerged plants had $8.4 billion (25.5 %) followed by floating plants $4.7 billion (14.5 %), emergent $684 million (2.1 %) and semi-aquatic $306 million (0.9 %). Recorded costs were disproportionately high towards freshwater ecosystems, which have received the greatest cost research effort compared to marine and brackish systems. Public and social welfare and fisheries were the sectors most affected, while agriculture and health were most underreported. Cost attributed to management (4.8 %; $1.6 billion) represented only a fraction of damages (85.8 %; $28.2 billion). While recorded costs are rising over time, reporting issues e.g., robustness of data, lack of higher taxonomic resolution and geographical gaps likely have led to a dampening of trajectories. In particular, invasive taxa currently occupy regions where monetary cost reports are lacking despite well-known impacts. More robust and timely cost estimates will enhance interpretation of current and future impacts of aquatic invasive plants, assisting the long-term sustainability of our aquatic ecosystems and associated economic activities.

How might bacteriophages shape biological invasions?

Invasions by eukaryotes dependent on environmentally acquired bacterial mutualists are often limited by the ability of bacterial partners to survive and establish free-living populations. Focusing on the model legume-rhizobium mutualism, we apply invasion biology hypotheses to explain how bacteriophages can impact the competitiveness of introduced bacterial mutualists. Predicting how phage-bacteria interactions affect invading eukaryotic hosts requires knowing the eco-evolutionary constraints of introduced and native microbial communities, as well as their differences in abundance and diversity. By synthesizing research from invasion biology, as well as bacterial, viral, and community ecology, we create a conceptual framework for understanding and predicting how phages can affect biological invasions through their effects on bacterial mutualists.

Recent advances in availability and synthesis of the economic costs of biological invasions

Biological invasions are a global challenge that has received insufficient attention. Recently available cost syntheses have provided policy- and decision makers with reliable and up-to-date information on the economic impacts of biological invasions, aiming to motivate effective management. The resultant InvaCost database is now publicly and freely accessible and enables rapid extraction of monetary cost information. This has facilitated knowledge sharing, developed a more integrated and multidisciplinary network of researchers, and forged multidisciplinary collaborations among diverse organizations and stakeholders. Over 50 scientific publications so far have used the database and have provided detailed assessments of invasion costs across geographic, taxonomic, and spatiotemporal scales. These studies have provided important information that can guide future policy and legislative decisions on the management of biological invasions while simultaneously attracting public and media attention. We provide an overview of the improved availability, reliability, standardization, and defragmentation of monetary costs; discuss how this has enhanced invasion science as a discipline; and outline directions for future development.

Unveiling the hidden economic toll of biological invasions in the European Union

Background

Biological invasions threaten the functioning of ecosystems, biodiversity, and human well-being by degrading ecosystem services and eliciting massive economic costs. The European Union has historically been a hub for cultural development and global trade, and thus, has extensive opportunities for the introduction and spread of alien species. While reported costs of biological invasions to some member states have been recently assessed, ongoing knowledge gaps in taxonomic and spatio-temporal data suggest that these costs were considerably underestimated.

Results

We used the latest available cost data in InvaCost (v4.1)-the most comprehensive database on the costs of biological invasions-to assess the magnitude of this underestimation within the European Union via projections of current and future invasion costs. We used macroeconomic scaling and temporal modelling approaches to project available cost information over gaps in taxa, space, and time, thereby producing a more complete estimate for the European Union economy. We identified that only 259 out of 13,331 (~ 1%) known invasive alien species have reported costs in the European Union. Using a conservative subset of highly reliable, observed, country-level cost entries from 49 species (totalling US$4.7 billion; 2017 value), combined with the establishment data of alien species within European Union member states, we projected unreported cost data for all member states.

Conclusions

Our corrected estimate of observed costs was potentially 501% higher (US$28.0 billion) than currently recorded. Using future projections of current estimates, we also identified a substantial increase in costs and costly species (US$148.2 billion) by 2040. We urge that cost reporting be improved to clarify the economic impacts of greatest concern, concomitant with coordinated international action to prevent and mitigate the impacts of invasive alien species in the European Union and globally.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12302-023-00750-3.

The economic costs, management and regulation of biological invasions in the Nordic countries

A collective understanding of economic impacts and in particular of monetary costs of biological invasions is lacking for the Nordic region. This paper synthesizes findings from the literature on costs of invasions in the Nordic countries together with expert elicitation. The analysis of cost data has been made possible through the InvaCost database, a globally open repository of monetary costs that allows for the use of temporal, spatial, and taxonomic descriptors facilitating a better understanding of how costs are distributed. The total reported costs of invasive species across the Nordic countries were estimated at $8.35 billion (in 2017 US$ values) with damage costs significantly outweighing management costs. Norway incurred the highest costs ($3.23 billion), followed by Denmark ($2.20 billion), Sweden ($1.45 billion), Finland ($1.11 billion) and Iceland ($25.45 million). Costs from invasions in the Nordics appear to be largely underestimated. We conclude by highlighting such knowledge gaps, including gaps in policies and regulation stemming from expert judgment as well as avenues for an improved understanding of invasion costs and needs for future research.

The global social-economic dimension of biological invasions by plankton: Grossly underestimated costs but a rising concern for water quality benefits?

Planktonic invasive species cause adverse effects on aquatic biodiversity and ecosystem services. However, these impacts are often underestimated because of unresolved taxonomic issues and limited biogeographic knowledge. Thus, it is pivotal to start a rigorous quantification of impacts undertaken by planktonic invasive species on global economies. We used the InvaCost database, the most up-to-date database of economic cost estimates of biological invasions worldwide, to produce the first critical assessment of the economic dimension of biological invasions caused by planktonic taxa. We found that in period spanning from 1960 to 2021, the cumulative global cost of plankton invasions was US$ 5.8 billion for permanent plankton (holoplankton) of which viruses encompassed nearly 93%. Apart from viruses, we found more costs related to zooplankton (US$ 297 million) than to the other groups summed, including myco- (US$ 73 million), phyto- (43 million), and bacterioplankton (US$ 0.7 million). Strikingly, harmful and potentially toxic cyanobacteria and dinoflagellates are completely absent from the database. Furthermore, the data base showed a decrease in costs over time, which is probably an artifact as a sharp rise of novel planktonic alien species has gained international attention. Also, assessments of the costs of larval meroplanktonic stages of littoral and benthic invasive invertebrates are lacking whereas cumulative global cost of their adults stages is high up to US$ 98 billion billion and increasing. Considering the challenges and perspectives of increasing but unnoticed or neglected impacts by plankton invasions, the assessment of their ecological and economic impacts should be of high priority.